The Weimar Republic Weimar Republic Collective term for

The Weimar Republic

Weimar Republic �Collective term for Germany between 1919 - 1933 when there was a democratic republic governed by a constitution Under the Weimar Constitution, Germany was divided into 19 states

�The President: Elected every 7 years Appointed the Chancellor In an emergency, he could make laws without consulting the parliament

�The Chancellor: Appointed by the President Like a Prime Minister Led the government and needed to have the support of the majority of the parliament

�The Reichstag (parliament) Elected every four years Had the power to pass or reject changes to the law

Positives about the Republic �It was the first democratic constitution in German history It had a strong President who could take charge in a crisis but otherwise allowed the people’s opinions to really be heard

�Each individual state in Germany was still in charge of its own domestic issues

�A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law

�All men and women over the age of 20 could vote

�There was an elected president and parliament (the Reichstag)

�The parliament (Reichstag) made the laws

Weaknesses of the Republic �From the beginning, Germans were highly suspicious of the new government and some extremists outright rejected it

�The government relied on proportional representation Germans voted for a party, and each party was given a number of seats reflective of votes they got Caused many tiny parties (28) with none strong enough to get a majority

�Because of the variety of parties, government coalitions changed frequently 1919 -1933, there were 20 separate governments Longest was for only 2 years

�Article 48: In an emergency, the president did not need the support of the parliament (Reichstag) to issue decrees Lacks definition of “emergency”

�The Army was not fully under the government’s control and its leaders were not supportive of the Weimar Republic

�There were many right-wing terrorists who hated the new republic for signing the Versailles Treaty In 1920, over 350 politicians were murdered by nationalist terrorist groups